Frugal Friday | Eat out or in

Many families go for a takeaway meal on a Friday in the UK and a favourite is fish and chips. Many fish and chips shops dip the chips in batter so they will look more appetising and are cheaper to cook. They then encourage you to buy a medium sized portion that contains enough chips for 2 people. You end up with a meal that is over 600 calories and loaded with fat. This is the Friday treat for many families and can work out quite expensive. I tend to be frugal on a Friday and try to save on meals, so I can enjoy something a little more special for Sunday lunch. Egg and chips is a favourite for dinner on a Friday.

Cooking is a skill and all skills can save you money. You can learn cooking, it’s not rocket science! You can also learn other, do it yourself skills, that will save you money. I decided to cook soup today and that recipe might be the subject of a future blog. I have some diced pork in the fridge for a Chinese stir fry and so I’m spoiled for choice today. I think whatever I have for lunch and dinner, the two meals will work out cheaper than having fish and chips and taste much better.

The price of food keeps going up and so for many people it’s a never ending struggle, especially if children demand their chips! You can make kids want your home cooked food by making it a little special. You can make it look good, serve up stir fry in rice bowls. If you give them chop sticks it’ll last them all day! Above all, make the food look good. Make the burgers and chips look like they came from a fast food joint, but make them taste even better.

We have constant rain in Britain now, but it’s great for the garden! I have seeds trying to germinate and seedlings trying to survive the chilly rain. If you grow some runner beans they don’t take up very much room and provide lots of virtually free veggies in late summer. Salad is great to grow too, I have lettuce seedlings growing. You can also grow herbs, my basil is a bit waterlogged, but fresh herbs add great flavour to home made soups.